Edward Snowden's actions have divided opinion, with some labelling him a hero and others calling him a traitor

Reuters: Bobby Yip

Fugitive American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden remains holed up in a Russian airport, with his travel plans still a mystery as Ecuador warns it could take months to consider his asylum request.

The man responsible for one of the biggest intelligence security breaches in US history has not been sighted since arriving in Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday.

Russia says Snowden, whose flight is proving a growing embarrassment for US president Barack Obama, is still in the transit area of Sheremetyevo airport.

By declaring that he is in the transit area, Russian authorities maintain the position that he has not formally entered Russia - a step that would take the dispute to another level.

Russia has said it will not extradite Snowden to the US, where he has been charged with espionage.

The 30-year-old has not been seen in the transit area - the zone between the departure gate and formal entry into the country - since his arrival.

"He has not violated Russian law, he has not crossed the border, he is in the transit zone of the airport and can fly anywhere that he wants," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has denied that Snowden is being interviewed by Russian intelligence and called any US accusations that Moscow is aiding him "ravings and rubbish".

According to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, which is assisting Snowden, he is travelling on a refugee document of passage provided by Ecuador.

WikiLeaks has said he risks being stuck in Russia "permanently".

Ecuador warns asylum decision could take months

Snowden has has requested asylum in Ecuador, which has asked Washington to argue its case for extradition and says a decision could take months.

"It took us two months to make a decision on Assange so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this time," foreign minister Richard Patino said, referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

He says that Ecuador would consider giving Snowden protection before that if he went to Ecuador's embassy - but Russian officials say Snowden does not have a visa to enter Russia, and the US has revoked his passport.

Snowden abandoned his high-paying intelligence contractor job in Hawaii and went to Hong Kong on May 20 to begin issuing a series of leaks on the NSA.

He revealed it has access to vast amounts of internet data such as emails, chat rooms and video under a government program known as PRISM.

Snowden's supporters say he is a whistleblower, while critics call him a criminal and perhaps even a traitor.